July 8, 2024 (Taguig City) – Secretary of National Defense Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. said on Monday that the Philippine-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) has upgraded relations between the two countries, paving the way for a more robust military cooperation.

Secretary Teodoro described the agreement as a “milestone” in the collective international effort to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and the Asian region.

In his remarks during the bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, held after the RAA was signed, Secretary Teodoro said the historic signing of the agreement has “upgraded our partnership one level higher.”

The RAA is “another milestone in our shared endeavor to ensure a rules-based international order to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and particularly in our region,” the Philippine defense chief said.

On Monday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. witnessed the signing of the Philippine-Japan RAA at the Malacañang Presidential Palace.

The new bilateral defense agreement, which requires the concurrence of the Philippine Senate and ratification of Japan’s Diet, aims to pave the way for joint military exercises, and closer defense and security relations.

The RAA with the Philippines is Japan’s first with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Among others, the agreement will lift restrictions on military exchanges between Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippine for joint exercises and disaster relief operations, both in the Philippines and Japan.

Secretary Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko signed the agreement, after President Marcos met with the Japanese officials and their delegation.

Secretary Teodoro said the agreement “adds the vital aspect of security which creates a holistic dimension or adds a holistic dimension to our bilateral relations.”

“It will also add to the multilateral efforts that both our governments are doing to make sure that our region respects the rule of international law,” the defense chief said.